Wall assembly



Aug. 4, 1970 J. K. WISE "WALL ASSEMBLY Filed Oct. 11, 1968 7;u/m-aa/ KUJ 52 Mad g /M 16 zz 1a United States Patent 3,522,683 WALL ASSEMBLY John K. Wise, Glenview, Ill., assignor to United States Gypsum Company, Chicago, Ill., a corporation of 7 Delaware Filed Oct. 11, 1968, Ser. No. 766,703 Int. Cl. E04b 2/28, N88

US. Cl. 52-378 3 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This invention pertains to wall assemblies in building construction and more particularly pertains to arrangements for retaining insulating panels and supporting interior wall components on a \wall such as a masonry exterior wall. 'Previously proposed means of securing panels of insulation and a covering surface to a wall, such as a masonry exterior wall, have included the use of clips and beads of adhesive and various combinations of these fastening means. Such prior constructions using anchoring clips have included Z-shaped clips having a pair of flanges con- 'nected by a web, wherein one flange was secured to the wall and the other flange overlaid a room-side portion of a panel of insulation and supported screw-attached covering wall panels. One problem arising from this type of construction was the difliculty of locating the near flange of the clip when the wall panel was placed over the insulation. Another problem arising from such construction was the subsequent appearance of shadows or discoloration on the room side of the covering wall surface overlying each clip, as a result of heat transfer from the roomside surface to the exterior wall. In short, the clips provided local areas of greater heat transfer through the wall assembly than did the areas between the clips. In some cases the use of clips and/or beads of adhesive did not provide an adequate amount of securement. Continuous furring members also have been proposed, such as Z- shaped metal furring members, to minimize the aforementioned locating problem. However, the heat transfer and related discoloration problems have required special designs or constructions with such members to control the heat transfer.

It is an object of this invention to provide a solution to the aforenoted problems.

It is another object of this invention to provide an improved furring arrangement.

It is a further object of this invention to provide for convenient and economical securement of finishing wall components to a wall, with a low coeflicient of heat-transfer between the finishing components and the wall in the area of securement.

It is a further object of this invention to provide for convenient and economical assembly of insulating panels and overlying finishing wall panels on a masonry wall, while providing adequate securement for the insulation and the finishing panels and eliminating problems of dis- 3,522,683 Patented Aug. 4, 1970 coloration or shadowing due to diflerentials in heat transfer rates in various areas of the finished wall assembly.

Further and additional objects and advantages will appear from the description, accompanying drawings and appended claims.

In one embodiment of this invention a wall assembly includes a plurality of panels of insulating material overlying one surface of an exterior wall, a plurality of support members each including an elongated flange overlying an edge portion of one of said panels and a register portion extending laterally from one edge of the flange and engaging the side edge of the respective panel, fasteners extending through each of said overlying flanges and the underlying panel and penetrating the wall for supporting the support members and. retaining the panels, and surface wall components overlying said panels and said flanges and secured to said flanges.

For a more complete understanding of the invention, reference should now be had to the embodiment illustrated in the accompanying drawing and described below, by way of example of the invention.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a portion of a wall assembly embodying teachings of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a front view of a portion of an angle member of the assembly of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a portion of the angle member of FIG. 2, and

FIG. 4 is a top view of a portion of the assembly of FIG. 1.

The wall assembly 10 illustrated in FIG. 1, includes an outer wall 12, insulating panels 14 overlying the inner surface of wall 12, and interior finishing panels 16. The wall 12 is of masonry construction such as concrete, stone, brick, masonry blocks or the like. Panels 14 are panels, boards, or blocksof insulating material such as an expanded polystyrene or urethane resin possessing suflicient integrity to maintain their form during handling and subsequent to installation. The illustrated finishing panels 16 are gypsum wallboard, i.e., a cast gypsum core within a paper sheath.

The arrangement for retaining panels 14 and mounting panels 16 includes an elongated metal angle member 18 which extends along the vertical joint between the adjacent panels 14. Referring also to FIGS. 2, 3 and 4, member 18 is a unitary element comprising a planar flange 20 and a narrow, planar lateral flange 22 extending from one edge of the flange 20, whereby flanges 20 and 22 are of an L configuration in cross section. The flange 20 overlies the adjacent edge portion of one panel 14, and the flange 22 extends between the adjacent panels. Flange 22 reinforces flange 20, providing rigidity and support strength for member 18, and also serves as a register element for positioning the flange 20 along the edge of the respective panel 14.

The flange 22 is of a width substantially less than the thickness of the panels 14 whereby the distal edge 22a is spaced from the adjacent surface of wall 12. Thus the member 13 does not contact wall 12 and there is no heat conduction path from the exterior wall 12 to flange 20 through the member 18.

Suitable driven fasteners 24 extend through the flange 20 and the panels 14 and penetrate the wall 12 to secure the member 18 to the wall 12. By way of example, the fasteners 24 may be nails or studs designed for driving into masonry, as with a power-driven or explosive cartridge driven impact tool, in a known manner. Preformed openings 26 (FIG. 3) may be provided in flange 20 to receive the fasteners.

Panels 16 are secured to flange 20 by suitable fasteners 28. For instance, fasteners 28 may be self-tapping rotary screw fasteners as disclosed in US. Pat. No. 3,056,234, and may extend into panels 14, see FIG. 4.

The insulating panel 14 beneath flange 20 serves to space the member 18 from wall 12 in its intended furring position, while the member 18 and fasteners 24 provide the necessary support for attaching finishing wall com ponents. Member 18 must possess suflicient strength and rigidity, when secured in place, to retain the fasteners 28 and to support the panels 16 without significant yielding movement. By way of one specific example, for sup' porting gypsum wallboard interior panels /2 thick, over insulating panels 14 about 1" thick, a right-angular member 18 having a flange 20 of a width of 1%" and a flange 22 of a width of /2" may be formed of 24 gauge (about 0.028") hot-dipped galvanized steel.

Generally, a member 18 is installed with each course of insulation panels or blocks. Accordingly, the panel 14 having a free edge at one joint, such as the panel 14 at the left in FIG. 1, normally is retained by a member 18 having a retainer flange 20 overlying the opposite edge of the panel. In any event, the panels 14 ultimately are covered and held in place by the interior panels 16.

During assembly, a panel 14 normally is positioned on the Wall 12, a member 18 is placed over one edge of the panel, and fasteners 24 are driven to secure the member 18 in place. By providing preformed openings 26, the crushing forces on the insulating material are minimized as the fasteners 24 are driven.

After the panels 14 are positioned and the members 18 are secured to the wall 12, the covering panels 16 are positioned and are secured to the members 18 by driving the fasteners 28 through the panels 16 and through the underlying flanges 20. The panels 16 may be positioned with their longitudinal side edges extending either horizontally, transverse to the members 18, or vertically, parallel to members 18, as desired. The insulation panels 14 normally will be of an appropriate size so that an attachment flange 20 of a member 18 is disposed beneath each vertical joint between the overlying interior panels 16. Further, depending upon the size of the insulation panels and of the interior panels, a member or members 18 may lie between such joints, with the overlying interior panels 16 being secured to the flanges 20 thereof for additional support of the interior panels 16.

Fasteners 24 represent the only metal heat conductive paths between wall 12 and the interior panels 16. Considering the relatively small cross-sectional area of such fasteners, it will be appreciated that a furring support= construction has been provided which has a very low coeflicient of heat transfer.

Other embodiments will be apparent from the foregoing dsiclosure. For example, where the interior covering is plaster, the lath component may be secured to the attachment flange. Also, the registering element of the securing member may be of other configurations.

It will be appreciated that a unique and economical structure has been provided which meets the aforestated objects.

While particular embodiments of this invention are shown and described above, it will be understood that the invention is not. to be limited thereto since many modifications may be made by those skilled in the art, particularly in light of the foregoing teachings. Therefore, it is contemplated by the appended claims to cover any such modifications as incorporate those features which may be said to constitute the essential features of these improvements, within the true spirit and scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. A Wall assembly comprising a wall, a plurality of panels of self-supporting insulating material overlying one surface of said wall, a support member of L configuration in cross section disposed along one edge of each of said panels, each of said support members including a first planar elongated flange overlying an outer edge portion of the respective panel and a planar register flange integral with and extending laterally from one edge of said elongated flange, said register flange overlying the side edge of the respective panel adjacent said edge portion thereof throughout the width of said register flange and having the free terminal edge thereof lying in the joint between said side edge and a side edge of an adjacent panel, fasteners extending through said elongated flange of each of said support members and the underlying panel and penetrating said wall for supporting said members and retaining said panels, and surface wall components overlying said panels and said members, said surface wall components being secured to said elongated flanges.

2. A wall assembly as in claim 1 wherein said register flange of each of said support members is of a width less than the thickness of said insulating material, whereby said free terminal edges of said register flanges are spaced fro-m said wall.

3. A wall assembly as in claim 1 wherein said surface wall components comprise gypsum wallboard panels, including further fasteners extending through said wallboard panels and said elongated flanges for securing said wallboard panels to said elongated flanges.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,625,637 4/1927 Abel 52467 1,662,177 3/1928 Williams 52512 2,590,687 3/1952 Crafton 52404 3,401,494 9/1968 Anderson 52351 HENRY C. SUTHERLAND, Primary Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R. 

